A Favour
by Luinlothana
Summary: If Coreen had any idea how much trouble she could cause for herself by asking a friend for a simple favour, she would have never risked it. Or at least took necessary precautions.


Disclaimer: Classifying something as fanfiction contains an inherent statement that the author has no claim as to the intellectual property used in their work. In other words, how on earth could someone writing _fan_fiction claim they have rights to any recognisable elements in their work?

Summary: If Coreen had any idea how much trouble she could cause for herself by asking a friend for a simple favour, she would have never risked it. Or at least took necessary precautions.

A/N: Many thanks to Marlana for being my beta for this story.

A Favour

"He is just _so_ brilliant. I mean, it's amazing."

"Yeah, I know. And just imagine how it would be to talk to him. I mean, his imagination, and insight. And he knows so much..."

"Not to mention looks absolutely dreamy."

"How exactly do you know that?"

"I went to his signing once. You wouldn't believe how crowded it was. But still, when I came closer to him he smiled right at me. I thought I would melt. He is just _sooo_ hot."

"You actually went to his signing? Aw, girl, some have just all the luck."

"I know, right? I mean, he doesn't have them very often."

"And you just needed to go and flaunt it now, didn't you?"

"Hey, calm down, Ash. She didn't actually do anything wrong."

"Aside from flirting with him. I mean, you know how she dresses sometimes. Now no normal girl will have a chance."

"You don't know that."

"And I suppose you do? C'mon, Cor, all you did all the time was sit back and smirk and now we are supposed to believe _you_ have all the answers? Yeah, right."

"First of, I did _not_ smirk. I just didn't think I had anything to add to your discussion. And I seriously doubt Henry would go for the first girl wearing a clingy dress."

"Oh, _Henry_, is it? If you are trying to imply something there, I'm not buying."

"I'm not trying to imply anything."

"Aren't you? You sounded awfully sure of yourself a moment ago when you said his name."

"So what if I did? I know what his name is. So should you. It's printed in all of his books for crying out loud!"

"And I suppose his tastes are also printed there? I mean, most guys would fall for a girl displaying her assets the way Violet does."

"Are you calling me a slut, Ash?"

"Well, I'm certainly not the one wearing a dress size too small whenever a male might be around. You are treating your body instrumentally, bending to the pressure of conformism. That's not really living up to the ideals of self-worth."

"Says the girl who's jealous because she has nothing to show a man. Admit it, you stick to those phrases for fear that looks really do count."

"I could care less for any guy shallow enough to fall for such primitive animalistic lures."

"Hey, Ash? Vi? How about you both take a breath? Or if you want to fight in public just wait long enough to let me get a notebook so I can start taking bets when you get at it." Wonderful, so now she was borrowing her boss's style. What was the world coming to?

"This from the one who had nothing to say."

"At the level your argument was going there wasn't much left to say, really."

"Oh, sure. And you weren't the one implying a nice, close relationship with _Henry_ Fitzroy, were you?"

"I wasn't implying anything."

"Sure you were. Only you could never live up to it."

"No idea what you're talking about, Ash."

"Seriously, like he would notice you. Oh, wait, with that hairstyle of yours maybe he would. The same way people notice a car accident nearby."

"There is nothing wrong with my hair. You are just jealous, Vi."

"Jealous, am I? I thought you took that back?"

"Took what back? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"That you know him, of course. Of all the ridiculous things..."

"And what if I _do_ know him? It would be none of your business."

"Right. And you'd hide behind that so we can't call your bluff."

"There is no bluff to call. You know what? I don't even know why I'm continuing this conversation. I have to go to work tomorrow, I should be going anyway."

"And there goes poor Cory, scattering like a scared rabbit."

"Grow up, Vi."

"Yes, if it wasn't for your ridiculous tendency to view the world through the physical aspects of everything, Cor would not need to come up with things like that to put you in your place, Violet."

"She's coming up with things like that because she cannot accept that I actually met someone out of either of your leagues."

"That's it. I'm going. I need my sleep. See you later, Ash, Vi."

"See you, Cor. Don't forget we're going out Friday evening."

"I won't."

"Bring _Henry_ with you. I'm sure we could use more company."

"Seriously, Violet..."

"What? If she really knows him as she says she does, she won't have a problem with that, will she?"

"Bye, you two. And we'll see how you'll react when you see me with him." With that the Goth blinked at her own words and hurried out of the cafe without waiting for a reply. Just to make sure she wouldn't dig herself in any deeper than she already did.

III

Thursday evening wasn't particularly different from any other. If anything, it was a rather peaceful one, given that the day was slow from the very start. Still, this time Coreen was a girl on a mission.

Which needed to be put into the realisation phase as soon as she saw the vampire walk through the office door.

She put on her hopefully most charming smile.

"Good evening, Henry. Don't you think it's a wonderful night outside? I mean with the full moon and everything. Very picturesque."

"Possibly. I hate to disappoint you, but not even vampire vision allows one to see through rain clouds." She did her best not to wince at that. "Is Vicki in?"

"Yup, she'll probably be glad to see you, what with how little we had to do today and all. Did I mention I just love how the colour of your shirt brings out your eyes?"

He gave her a strange look and briefly glanced down at the shirt.

"I don't believe you did. Any of over a dozen times you've seen me wear it."

She did her best to look charmingly confused. She wasn't sure she managed.

"You did? I must have been tired then."

He gave her another look and continued on to the inner office.

"Good evening, Vicki. Is it just me, or is Coreen acting strangely today?"

"She didn't start until you came. She seemed sane beforehand."

Now, that wasn't good. She needed to try to salvage the situation. Quickly she went to the pair, grabbing a water bottle and coffee on the way.

"I thought you might want something to drink." She put on a smile that a toothpaste spokesperson would envy while placing the bottle before Henry and refilling Vicki's cup.

That was when the vampire looked at her searchingly.

"No," he finally said.

"What?"

"Whatever it is, if you feel the need to soften me to this extent before actually asking, the most sensible answer is bound to be no."

Her face fell.

"But you don't even know what it is about."

"True. At this point I'm not sure if I would even want to know. But just to cover a few possible points, no, I will not feed off you. No, you may not play with any grimoires I might own. No, I will not let you use my blood in any kind of ritual you've read about, however fascinating it may seem. No, I will not agree to let into my territory anyone you might have met online who claims to be a vampire just so you could try dating. No, I will not use my powers to alter the way your mind works just to make it easier for you to learn some obscure language. Did I miss anything?"

"To be honest, I wouldn't have thought about the last one. But it doesn't seem like that bad an idea."

"Why do you even encourage her, Henry?" The voice of her boss was somewhere between amused and annoyed.

"If you recall, I was trying to do the exact opposite."

"Not very successfully, if you are giving her ideas instead."

He sighed. "So which was it, Coreen? I noticed that you didn't exactly deny any of the options."

"Actually it was none of that. But are you sure about the grimoires? I promise I wouldn't do anything stupid."

"Yes, I'm sure about the grimoires. And anything else on that list."

When he didn't add anything else, the Goth decided it was time to throw away her dignity and directed her best puppy-dog look at him. The look well-practiced when she was younger, adding just enough of the kicked-spaniel effect to make it perfect.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Vicki rolling eyes at her but it wasn't her boss she was directing the look at anyway. Then Henry chuckled. Not exactly the reaction one was supposed to show to that look. Then again, to someone with a few centuries worth of practice in persuasion, she would probably look like a pathetic amateur. His chuckle grew a touch louder when that thought added a pout to the otherwise long-perfected look.

"All right, Coreen. What _was_ it that you wanted to ask for?"

She grinned. At that point it didn't matter how she got him to listen, right? _Right_?

"Well, you see, I have those two friends, Violet and Ash... Actually we've been best friends since primary school."

"Ash?"

"Her name is really Ashley. But she is kinda spiritual, non-conformist type and ages ago forbid everyone to use the name that could be connected to one of the Olsen twins."

"I see. So what about your friends?"

"Well, we still get together every so often. They are usually fun to be around even if we did go into a bit different directions in general."

"And?"

"And I was talking to them yesterday after work." He motioned her to continue. She swallowed. Now came the hard part. "You see, the thing is, they _might_ be kind of obsessed fans of yours. And I _might_ have accidently implied you'll come with me when I'm meeting them tomorrow evening."

She heard Vicki snort before Henry could say anything. "It's really too bad you won't be able to go because you'll be held up at work, isn't it?"

"What? Why? There is nothing to do here at the moment."

The former cop glared. Coreen wouldn't be surprised if this was exactly the look that got hardened killers to confess to anything they ever did, including cheating on their math test in the first grade. Still, she did her best not to flinch.

"Oh, you'll be very busy sorting the case files alphabetically by the third letter of the clients' name. And then learning by heart where each file is."

"You wouldn't!"

"Why? Because you think it's wrong to decide about somebody else's free time without asking their opinion on the topic?"

This was going the worst way it could. Heading straight for a major disaster.

"I didn't actually mean to decide for Henry. It just kinda slipped out before I could think. And I couldn't take it back then."

"Well, maybe you'll take the time to think next time then."

"I didn't mean to, honestly." Neither did she mean to let out an audible sniff but apparently she didn't have a say about her reactions at the moment.

She wished she could say it helped when Henry smiled at her but at the moment there wasn't really anything capable of lifting her mood. She sniffed again.

"Coreen, calm down, will you? I won't hold you in the office tomorrow. But you should really know better than to make decisions for others."

"I wasn't trying to. Really. But Vi was acting so obnoxious and she was on my case just because I said something. It wasn't really anything important. I was just trying to stop them from arguing. But that made them focus on me instead. And it all really didn't work the way it was supposed to. And..."

"Coreen, it's all right. Calm down." No matter how the vampire tried to salvage the situation, she couldn't help it. Her sniffing became more frequent. "Coreen, please. This is hardly worth such reaction." He sighed audibly and lifted her chin, making her meet the solid onyx of his eyes. "**Calm down**."

Suddenly she blinked. It was as if something inside her switched off and she was able to take a deep breath.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to get this upset."

"It's quite all right. Now can you tell me what exactly you got me into before I make any decisions regarding going along with this plan?"

She couldn't help to grin at that. "Sure. If you've got a minute."

Somehow there wasn't even much malice in Vicki's voice when she added "Or forty."

III

When the morning of the next day dawned, Coreen suddenly felt that things started looking ironically grimier. Last night, when she eventually got an "As long as nothing urgent comes up" from Henry, she'd been so overjoyed that she hardly cared about anything else.

Which, she suspected, would earn her some comment from her boss today. But that wasn't the worst of it. Had she been really bothered by those she probably wouldn't have lasted the first week of this job. Besides, behind all the glaring and snipping Vicki actually generally treated her as a friend. Or was that _judging by_ the glaring and snipping? In any case, the PI was the least of her worries at the moment.

No, the problem was much more complex. And it was probably all her fault. If she had just kept her big mouth shut on Wednesday, there would be nothing to worry about now. Or if she at least had the sense to forget about the whole thing instead of actually coming up with the plan of asking Henry. Sure, Ash and Vi would have probably teased her mercilessly for a couple of weeks but would have eventually forgotten about it. But, no, she had to go ahead and decide to actually prove them wrong.

How could she be so stupid?

This was some kind of nightmare. Just in a few hours she would need to introduce Henry to her friends. And sure, they were fun and all but last time she checked, they were all lovesick fangirlish about him. There was no way they were going to act appropriately. And what if they decided to tell some of their old primary school stories in Henry's presence?

Maybe she should ask Vicki to let her borrow a gun so she could simply shoot herself instead of slowly dying of embarrassment.

And what if, worst of all, Vi would go all crazy and jealous and actually _try_ to make her look bad? She had her episodes before. Meeting Henry and seeing Coreen was telling the truth could be just the thing to provoke another one. And there were some pretty horrible old stories she could use.

The Goth stumbled her way to the bathroom and looked at the unimpressive creature with disarrayed hair that stared back at her with accusation from the mirror.

Really, what had she been thinking?

III

She spent most of the day praying to every deity she could think of, including some she was pretty sure were fictional, for some kind of a new supernatural case to appear that would require Vicki to ask for Henry's help. It would, after all, provide a nice solution to the whole problem. Maybe she would even need to stay at work as well and avoid the teasing her friends would subject her to.

She was hopeful, in notably decreasing level until the late afternoon. Which was when she decided that either all the divine beings were too busy to bother or didn't like being dealt with in bulk. Well, that or there might have been something to the views of the atheists, she added spitefully in her head, half-hoping _that_ would at least get some reaction, if only to prove her wrong.

No such luck.

When the sky slowly started greying outside with the tones of purple on the west, she resignedly dragged herself home to change.

Really, where was a major crisis when you needed one?

III

Under any other circumstances a ride in a black jag with leather seats and a built-in stereo straight out of Star Trek providing soft music, would have been a treat. This time however it felt more like being transported to an execution. Her execution.

She did her best to sink into the warm seat as deep as possible.

"I'm not going bite your friends, Coreen." She heard Henry suddenly say apropos nothing.

"What?"

"Your heartbeat is almost double the speed it should be. You are obviously nervous and worried. I can only assume it has to do with me meeting your friends. I'm not going to attack them, you know."

"Oh. No, it's not that. More the other way round, really. I shouldn't be subjecting you to rabid fangirls."

He actually laughed at that.

"I grew up around the court coteries, Coreen. I assure you, no rabid fan could ever even aspire to reaching that level."

"Still, it's not fair to you. I'm sorry."

"We haven't even gotten there yet. You have nothing to be sorry about and it might not be as bad as you seem to think it will be. And besides, if I couldn't even deal with two fans of my works, I daresay I would be in very much trouble.

She tried to laugh.

"I guess."

"Excellent. Now try to smile, all right? You are supposed to be enjoying the evening."

"Good to know."

III

When Henry finally parked close to the club and they started walking towards the place, the feeling of approaching doom returned in full swing. Only to be somewhat mellowed with a glance at the crowd waiting to get in.

Coreen sighed and resignedly started making her way towards the end of the line.

"Where are you going now, Coreen? You haven't lost your courage, have you? They are your friends, after all."

"No, it's just..." She tried to gesture at the line only to have him chuckle.

"You'll find that there are some things that come with frequenting places like this often enough. Come," He smiled at her, leading her to the front of the line. In retrospect she didn't really know why she was as surprised as she was when he produced a VIP card and had them inside within seconds.

Which was great, of course. For the whole minute it took her to realise that this inevitably got her closer to the moment when she would need to introduce her friends to Henry. Of course there was a chance that Ash would behave. She was a huge fan, true, but she was too proud of the air of reserved observation to give it up too easily. So there was hope. Vi however... That was too horrible to even contemplate.

Imaging herself as an ancient Pompeian seismologist who recklessly complained that their job was too boring, she looked around trying to find the girls. For a brief moment she hoped that maybe they weren't there. It was entirely possible that they forgot, wasn't it? Or that at least Vi would have had something come up last second. And besides, wasn't it still the flu season?

Just when she almost convinced herself that it could have indeed happened, she spotted them sitting in the booth in the corner, talking.

"Dozen purple fluffy bunnies," she muttered under her breath.

"I beg your pardon?"

She blanched, mortified. How, just how, could she have forgotten that Henry would be able to hear her? Why in a moment like this?

"I didn't say anything?" she tried.

"Aside from that remark about, let's see, purple bunnies, was it?"

"Why would I say something like this?"

"You tell me. I asked not because of any difficulty in hearing it but the complete lack of context."

She groaned. "I don't suppose you could just pretend you never, ever heard it? Ever."

"Ah, but I'm afraid you got me quite curious now. I will promise never to repeat it if you give me an explanation though."

"Never? Even to Vicki?" She thought about it for a second. "_Especially_ to Vicki?"

"You have my word. Now what was it about the bunnies?"

"Could you please stop repeating that?"

"I never realised it was a taboo of any sort, I'm afraid."

"Ugh."

"Well? What did you mean by mentioning the purple fluffy creatures that shall evermore remain unnamed?"

She took a deep breath. It felt good, especially as an alternative to explaining anything, so she took another. Then, upon his look she realised she couldn't stall any longer.

"Let's say, purely theoretically, that I might have, at one point, been a cute innocent little girl."

"Amazing theory. Where does it lead us?"

"Well, you know how cute little girls aren't supposed to swear? So I devised my own phrase that I used instead."

"Featuring fluffy purple..." He grinned as her face must have morphed into a mask of pained despair but thankfully never finished the sentence.

"Yeah, those. Dozen of them to be exact."

"Why a dozen?"

"No idea. You could just as well ask why purple. It was just something that came to my mind. Only apparently..." She was very acutely aware that she must be blushing judging by the heat in her cheeks.

"Yes?"

"The habit of saying that is a bit harder to break than I thought it would be, now that it outlived its usefulness."

"I see. If it helps any, I think it's rather endearing."

"You know what? It's not helping at all. '_Endearing_?'" she repeated horrified.

"My bad. Now, before we let the sleeping bunnies lie, could you share what was it that made you invoke them this time?"

She winced at the mention of the fluffy monsters before even analysing the sentence. Once she did, it definitely didn't improve her mood.

"I saw Ash and Vi."

"I may be wrong there, but shouldn't you have expected them here, seeing how you agreed on the meeting?"

"They seem in a _good mood_."

"Oh, perish the horrifying though. Seeing your friends in a good mood must have been a truly terrible sight."

"Henry."

"Shall we go greet them then? You are probably worrying about the situation more than necessary."

"Try less than I should."

"If you say so. But if we got this far we can just as well go and talk to them, don't you think?"

"Ok. I suppose." She paused. "But in case you won't be speaking to me later because of it, I'm really sorry for getting you into this."

"I honestly doubt it will be that bad. And I assure you, I know better than to blame you for the actions of others."

"Uh huh."

III

It took exactly thirty eight steps to get to the booth. Thirty six if you discounted the necessity to sidestep people twice, which broke what usually would have been a single step into two. In Coreen's opinion counting steps felt much better than actually stopping to think about what pandemonium was going to break out once they reached their destination. Still, consuming task as it was, the counting came to the inevitable end once they reached the table.

The girls were talking still and probably had yet to see them. But any moment now one of them would glance their way. It was probably better to speak first. Vicki always said that initiating a conversation puts you in a better position to have the upper hand, which was exactly what she would need. Meaning that she actually needed to find her voice right now...

"Hi guys," she managed, wondering silently if the words were really croaked out or if they just seemed like that to her ears.

"Good to see you finally got here, Co-" Ash's words died half-way through her name.

The Goth swallowed and barged on. "Right, you don't know each other. Henry, this is Ash and the girl over there is Violet. You might have seen her at one of your signings. They've been my friends practically since forever. Ash, Vi, I suppose you know who Henry is."

Proud of herself for managing to actually say all that without panicking she observed as the vampire gave both girls one of his patented smiles and, to the amazement of the aforementioned, gracefully kissed their hands murmuring something, that she supposed was a variation of 'Charmed'.

Both recipients of this treatment blinked repeatedly but had yet to say a word. Perhaps there was some hope still, Coreen mused, as long as Henry kept them speechless for the rest of the evening. If there was anyone capable of that, it was bound to be him.

Then again, whoever said that luck would be on her side that evening? After another blink, Vi finally recovered enough to react.

"Oh, my God. You are, aren't you? I mean, of course you are, who else would you be? I love you. I mean, your books. It's so wonderful to meet you. I mean again. I went to you signing, you know..."

"It's most wonderful to meet good friends of Coreen's," Henry interrupted her stream of consciousness, pretending to take Vi's pause for breath as a sign she was finished speaking. Still, Coreen wondered if vampire reflexes weren't needed to manage that. "I'm glad to hear you enjoy my work."

Then he turned to the Goth, faking obliviousness of their stares so perfectly that _she_ was almost buying it. Almost.

"Why don't you sit down, Coreen, while I get us something to drink. What would you like?"

"Vodka. Lots of it. As anaesthetic." She muttered too quiet for either of the girls to hear but, judging by the amused sparkle in his eyes, just enough for him to register it without a problem. "Whatever seems nice. Maybe something with a touch of almond." She dropped her voice again. "Like cyanide."

"I will see what I can do." He nodded with his eyes sparkling even more but his face still not revealing any reaction otherwise. "What about you, ladies?"

"Anything you're having." Vi's voice seemed a half-octave higher than it usually was, and strangely airy. While Ash cleared her throat, lifted her own drink, and pointedly looked at a similar one standing before her friend, the girl downed it in one gulp and tried to look mischievous. Tried. Coreen's shoulders slumped. This was not looking good.

Not even Henry's conspiratorial look he gave her after acknowledging the other girl's demand lifted her mood. Much.

III

Her gaze followed Henry as he went to order their the drinks, not really prepared to face her friends just yet. It was really too bad that they didn't seem to be feeling generous enough to grant her any choice in the matter.

"Cor, how could you hold out on us like that?"

"What? Vi?" Being brutally dragged into an interaction was really not a nice feeling.

"Oh, come on. You know what I mean. _Him_."

"You mean Henry? I don't know what you are talking about."

"Of course I mean _Henry_. How could you not tell us anything. I thought we were friends."

"Maybe she was afraid you'd try to steal him, Violet. Wouldn't have been surprised. Not two minutes into meeting him you declared you loved him, if you recall."

"Don't remind me. I was surprised and didn't know what I was saying. I don't even want to know what he must think of me right now."

Coreen sighed. This was shaping up to be a very, _very_ long night, as far as going out with friends went.

"Okay, first of all, Ash, it's nothing like that. Henry is not mine to steal from. We're just friends." She really didn't care to interpret the look that appeared on both of her friends' faces upon hearing that. Taking a deep breath she continued. "And Vi? I seriously doubt Henry would form a firm opinion about anyone just from their behaviour in the first three minutes of meeting him."

She left the fact that the reason she doubted that was that he had all his keen senses to tell him more within those minutes to herself. That was need-to-know information after all. And they definitely didn't need to know.

III

Fortunately, or maybe not all that fortunately depending how you looked at it, Henry didn't take long returning to the table. He didn't have the drinks but was followed by a dazed-looking waitress that did and settled them on the table almost reverently, never taking her eyes off Henry.

"Thank you very much, Amy," the vampire took her hand and smiled. Coreen could only assume he handed her a tip but the girl probably wouldn't notice if a meteor hit the ground right next to her, judging by the look of complete bliss she was wearing. The Goth briefly wondered if the waitress was on her way on becoming the meal for the night but eventually decided she didn't care. Curious as she was, she figured she owed Henry some privacy after what she was subjecting him to.

After the waitress drifted away, with the slowest, most regretful stride Coreen had ever seen, the Goth realised that Henry put a glass with a drink before her. He smirked as she sniffed the drink suspiciously and winked at her when she realised it _did_ smell of almonds.

"Amaretto base," he mouthed to her before placing one of the other glasses before Violet.

Coreen looked suspiciously at their drinks. The fact they were dark red did nothing to give her peace of mind. Finally the vampire acknowledged her stare.

"Want a sip?" he offered, pushing the untouched drink her way. He smiled.

That smile made the Goth wonder if it was supposed to be encouraging or if he was simply making fun of her. Whatever the case, even if the offer was a simple courtesy at first, she couldn't very well back out of it now. Not when he looked at her with that undefined smile.

Slowly, she lifted the glass and took a small, cautious sip. She held it in her mouth for a second before she realised she was tasting wine. She tried to exhale as surreptitiously as possible in case Henry _was_ making fun of her before. After all, if he didn't want to do that, she was pretty sure he could have chosen just about any other drink that didn't look this suspicious.

"Not bad," she managed neutrally. "But I think I'll stick to my drink this time."

"Suit yourself."

III

When Henry finally had a chance to sit down Coreen felt some small, irrational hope that everything would still be alright. Her friends still seemed a touch intimidated and after her initial outburst, Vi didn't seem all that eager to risk voicing anything again.

After they sat in silence for a second, the Goth realised to her horror that Henry actually took it upon himself to break her friends out of their blissful silence, inquiring about the way they all met. Their answer was brief but unfortunately it seemed to do the trick as Vi, emboldened again, fixed her eyes on the vampire.

"So, do you have a girlfriend?" Her question was shot at him at a shotgun speed. And with a similar level of subtlety.

Suddenly busy fantasising about sinking through the floorboards this very second, Coreen chanced a glance at Henry. To her surprise his face was the mask of calm politeness as he met Vi's eyes.

"I have a number of friends and I will freely admit that some of them are indeed female." He smiled at the disbelief that appeared on the girl's face. "Nonetheless, in case you were referring to my romantic involvement with anyone, I must confess that I prefer to keep such matters to myself. However, should such person indeed exist, I have little doubt that she would prefer to be called a woman rather than a girl."

Very slowly the Goth managed to exhale, watching the result of what probably was the classical diplomacy applied to everyday matters. Distantly she realised that Vicki would probably be glad to hear that answer. Well, that wasn't exactly the truth. The ex-cop would probably be glad to give a piece of her mind to Violet without letting Henry speak but would settle for deeming the answer acceptable should the first option be impossible.

Which didn't mean that Coreen didn't feel she was just observing how a disaster she brought about was happening right before her eyes. She took a calming breath and decided to intervene just as Violet was opening her mouth again.

"Hey, Ash, you never told us how that job interview went. Did you get in?" So what if it sounded a touch desperate? She was practically the personification of 'desperate' right now so it probably fit. And while Ash didn't seem fooled even for a second, she thankfully played along.

"Depends. They said I got into the top ten shortlist but in the meantime I took a better look at the organisation. You wouldn't believe the things I've found. They said they were outsourcing, right? But then I went on a few forums and it turns out that outsourcing means paying people five dollars for the whole day's work. Can you imagine? Who do they think they are? Some backwards feudal lords or something? I tell you what they are – nothing but disgusting leeches!" She took a breath. "Anyway, after I found out I decided I couldn't work for them _ever_. So I never went to the last interview."

Would Mike understand, Coreen wondered suddenly, looking between the girls, if she turned herself in and explained she strangled both her friends while rendered temporarily insane by their behaviour? Because right now she seemed strangely tempted to do just that.

Meanwhile she took several sips of her drink as silence stretched over the table. It didn't really do anything to calm her.

III

Sometimes, observing all the jabs and snips Henry put up with around Vicki, Coreen wondered just how far his patience and understanding extended. But at least, she thought desperately, Henry loved Vicki, even if the former cop did all she could not to acknowledge the fact. Right now, the vampire prince had absolutely no reason to show any understanding.

Sure, he appeared calm, even amused by the girls' chattering. But that didn't mean he was. In fact, there was no telling if at the moment he didn't wish they just let Norman have her, so she would have never led him into this situation.

"...and the one when you had the guy find out that his sister was meeting that other guy, who was not human. Don't get me wrong, I loved the story but the whole setting? I mean, the ugh factor aside with the non-human thing, don't you think the girl was presented a bit chauvinistically? With her fear of speaking her mind and all."

Coreen finished her drink wondering just how the conversation had deteriorated to the point of Ash lecturing Henry about the plot of his stories when Violet joined in.

"Oh, come of it, girl. It was set in the nineteenth century. And besides, don't tell me you never fantasised about the guy telling you what to do, even doing things you don't really like..."

The Goth almost choked, bringing herself to their attention. Hopefully, with the light of this place only the vampire could tell she was blushing. She quickly got up.

"Excuse me for a moment guys, okay? I just need to..." she gestured in the general direction of the toilets. "Don't let me interrupt you."

With that she fled quickly.

III

Unfortunately the brief relief of not witnessing the disaster evaporated quickly as she was standing before the mirror, holding onto a sink and taking deep breaths. Soon the awareness of the conversation continuing at the table was too terrifying and too hard to ignore.

She slowly marched out, stopping at the bar to order herself another drink. Stronger this time. And large.

III

The drink proved to be a very useful purchase as the moment she returned to the table she realised that Vi was now sitting in a position obviously intended to make sure Henry had a good view of her, with her dress "accidently" having ridden up significantly. Very significantly. Not that the fact that her friend was partial to red lacy underwear was that big of a surprise.

When Violet corrected herself in her seat, giving anyone interested a clear view of the black ribbon accompanying the red lace, Coreen downed almost half of her drink in one gulp and frantically gestured to the waitress that more would be needed soon. Fortunately the girl was watching their table carefully, no doubt looking for an excuse to get closer to Henry again.

The Goth sighed. Definitely dinner material.

III

In retrospect, it would be hard to tell when it actually happened. All she knew was that one moment she was sitting there, looking horrified how Ash lectured and Vi was making passes at Henry and the next she didn't feel so worried anymore, choosing to observe the fascinating way the light was reflected in the glass.

It was really captivating, and when you moved the glass just a little it changed. And then back...

"Coreen, are you all right?" She looked up hearing Henry's voice and smiled.

"Yeah, sure. Did you notice how the glass does with light just what the priess... priss... that thing that makes it split does?"

"Indeed. Perhaps you could use a glass of water right now."

"Nah. M'okay." Her eyes focused on him and her grin widened. "Your hair is shiny."

She reached to touch it but for some reason he caught her hand. He wasn't playing fair. She moved to free her hand and whimpered.

"If you say so. But perhaps some fresh air would make you feel better. If you excuse us, girls, we'll be going now."

Coreen looked in confusion, only after a moment remembering about Ash and Vi. She looked at them. Vi had big loop earrings. They moved when she moved her head.

She realised she was standing, apparently Henry helped her up, but for some reason she couldn't quite remember what you were supposed to do when you were. She tried to take a step but apparently she did something wrong, because suddenly the floor started coming closer very fast. She was pretty sure she should react to it somehow but couldn't think of anything. Before she figured it out, she realised Henry was holding her again.

"Can you at least make it to the door?" he asked quietly.

"Mnhm," she answered. Still, for whatever reason he didn't believe her and put an arm around her back and, holding her hand with his other hand, started leading her.

His hand was cool, she realised. And soft. At least it felt very soft. But maybe it was because it was cool. Silk felt cool because it was soft so maybe it was like that. Yeah, that was very likely. Did that mean his skin looked like silk too, though?

She tried to pull it to her eye level to take a look. She didn't take more than a glance before he took his hand away. Didn't he understand that she wanted to know? Maybe that was why he was wearing silk shirts. Because his skin was like silk too. She decided she had to find out.

"Henry..."

"Yes?" Cold night air hit them as they stepped outside.

"Do you feel like silk? Because of your shirts. They are silk but are you?"

"Perhaps you should hold onto that question until you feel a bit better and are able to phrase it."

"But 'm feel'n' okay. You're not fair!" She frowned. Why was Henry so nasty to her? Didn't he like her? She always though he did.

"Maybe. But you are not okay." Why didn't he like her? It was altogether too much and she started crying. She suddenly felt him pull her into a hug and she clung to him before remembering he didn't like her. When she did, she stiffened. "It's all right, Coreen. Calm down."

"But...but..." It wasn't alright if he didn't like her. She wanted him to like her. She liked him. Maybe he didn't know she did? "But I like you!" she announced desperately.

"Thank you. Now how about you get into the car so I can drive you home?"

"Mnhmpf," she told him. He didn't seem to want to reply. Then she got into the passenger seat. It was tricky, because the car moved a little, trying to make it harder. Was it called a Jaguar because it behaved like a cat? That was very likely, she concluded.

III

The journey to her apartment was a bit funny, she decided, with all the lights playing on the windscreen but for whatever reason Henry seemed worried. She wondered why that might be. After all, he shouldn't be worried when the windscreen was so pretty. Usually when he was upset, it had something to do with Vicki.

But Vicki wasn't here so it had to be something else. Was he worried Vicki would be angry he went with her today? That was probably it. But that wasn't fair. They were both her friends and she wanted them to be happy. And now she ruined it. She sniffed.

"Henry? Vicki will be mad, won't she?"

"About you?" There. He knew what she was thinking so it had to be what was bothering him. She ruined everything.

"Uhmh," she confirmed before she sniffed. "'M s'rry, Henry."

"Coreen, it's fine. I'm sure she'll understand. This is no great tragedy, you know."

"You'r... hic! jus' tryin' to... hic! make me feel bett'r."

She honestly didn't know why he started chuckling at that. Didn't he know it was no laughing matter? It was awful and it was all her fault!

"To be honest, what I believe will make you feel better will be some water and a few hours of sleep." He stopped the car and she suddenly realised the lights on the windscreen stopped moving. "Will you manage to walk upstairs under your own steam or do you want me to carry you in case you have another disagreement with the earth's gravitation?"

She wasn't sure what he meant. Was something wrong with gravity that didn't affect him? That would at least explain why it was so hard to walk when they were leaving. Why didn't he say anything earlier? Should she have known that on her own?

But whatever the reason he apparently thought she would be able to manage. So she was not going to disappoint him now, especially after she ruined things with Vicki for him.

"Nah, 'll manage."

"I'm glad to hear it," he nodded as he exited the car and held the car door for her.

She started to get out and then suddenly she realised that Henry was holding her again and that she was standing at a very odd angle while the ground was moving like a water bed. Yeah, something was definitely wrong with the gravitation. Now that Henry mentioned it, there was no denying it.

"I hope you won't mind if I carry you all the same," she heard Henry speak and the next thing she knew, he was climbing the stairs with her in his arms. She wondered why whatever it was with the gravitation wasn't working on vampires.

III

Once they were finally at her door, Coreen couldn't help but wonder what happened to the lock. She's had it for quite a few years now and for the life of her couldn't recall any previous instance when it would move to escape her attempts at inserting the key.

Henry must have had it with the pesky thing as well as eventually he sighed, took the key from her and opened the door. She wasn't quite sure how he managed to do it on the first try, but she suspected it was some kind of a vampire trick.

Once they were inside, Henry led her to her bed, handed her the Scary Kitty nightie that was folded on her pillow, instructed her to drink the glass of water that suddenly appeared in his hand and then left, telling her to get changed and promising to be back soon.

Not seeing any reason not to comply, especially since the vampire seemed to know what was going on, she complied before sitting on her bed and wondering what to do next. She should probably remove her make-up as she never wore it with the nightie but she was afraid that whatever was going on would get her if she tried to get to the bathroom.

III

Coreen sat in her bed, wondering what to do with herself. She would have perhaps left her present location to look for Henry, who had currently disappeared somewhere, if it wasn't for the fact that the bed was distinctly floating.

That never happened before, so it probably wasn't the bed's fault, but the fact was undeniable. To make things worse, when she tried to get to the edge to see how the floating worked, it tipped dangerously, making her change her mind and retreat to the middle.

That meant Henry's disappearance remained a mystery. Was it still a disappearance when she just didn't know where he was because she couldn't check? In any case, she had no idea where he might have gone.

She supposed he hadn't gone away completely, because he never said goodbye, but then again, would he be saying it if he didn't like her? That was a very good question. But if he didn't like her, that meant when he was saying goodbyes before it was without liking her. That was unfair.

III

She was almost drowsing, as her head started becoming a bit heavy for some reason, when she heard the door to her apartment opening and closing. She blinked a few times, trying to make sense of the sound. Should she react in some way? Before she could decide on anything, Henry appeared in the doorway. After thinking about it for a moment, she decided if there was anything she should worry about, he would have told her about it.

"Coreen?" he spoke as he entered. "Are you planning to sleep with your makeup on?"

She blinked. Didn't he like her make up? Oh, right, she wasn't supposed to be wearing it with her nightie. But how did Henry know that? He never saw her in her bed clothes, did he? Coreen frowned in concentration.

"Coreen?" Henry prompted. Why wasn't he giving her time to think about it? Then again, he did say he didn't like her, earlier.

"Nuh-huh. Doesn't go with the nightie," she told him and wondered why his lips twitched at that. What was so funny about it?

"In that case, why don't you remove it, while I make you something to drink? I seem to remember a recipe you might appreciate."

"Don' wanna move," she told him firmly. How could he have forgotten how problematic that was? Just because he was somehow immune to this strange phenomenon, there was no reason to be this inconsiderate.

"If you say so. We'll need to see if we can go around that. Give me a moment," he said and then disappeared in the corridor again. She could hear the blender and running water but for the life of her couldn't think of what he might be doing.

A bit more awake again, she settled cross-legged in the middle of her bed and waited. True to his word, Henry didn't take long to return. He was carrying a glass of some pinkish substance that he placed on the bedside table and went back for a bowl, a washcloth and soap. She looked at everything curiously.

"Can you manage to clean your face yourself?" he asked her.

She looked at him curiously. "There's no mirror," she informed him.

"And you need one to remove your makeup?" Honestly, how could he be this ignorant? _Men_.

"Yeah," she told him.

"In that case, do you have a portable mirror somewhere?"

"Uh-huh." She thought about it. Then furrowed her brow. "Don't rememb'r where."

"I see," he allowed after looking at her searchingly. "May I help you with it, then?"

She thought about it, staring intently at the soap. Finally she reached a decision.

"Sure."

III

He was surprisingly gentle as he used the warm, slightly soapy water to remove the last traces of her makeup. At the same time, the sensation was calming, to the point of making her sleepy again. It didn't help that Henry asked her to keep her eyes closed during the whole process. Finally she felt a towel drying her face.

"All done," he told her and she opened her eyes to see him smiling at her.

"Thanks," she responded quietly, feeling shy all of the sudden. It occurred to her, that being without makeup usually made her shy but she couldn't quite figure out why it would.

"My pleasure." He reached to the bedside table for the glass. "Now, I believe you might want to drink this."

She looked at the strange liquid. "Uhm. Whass'it?"

"Old recipe, blackcurrant and apple juice, spring water and egg."

"Hmmm," she said noncommittally, sniffing it.

"I realise that this might be not the latest trend in avoiding unpleasant consequences tomorrow morning, but I'm afraid I had no reason to update my knowledge since fifteen thirties. Besides, from what I understand, there is still no particularly successful method other than not drinking anything in the first place."

Coreen looked at him a touch confusedly, wondering what Henry was talking about. Why couldn't he make sense? To cover for her lack of response she took a few sips from the glass. The liquid tasted strange. Still, having no inspiration for what to say next she kept drinking until she emptied the glass. Then something occurred to her.

"I should brush my teeth." She said firmly, handing him the glass.

"You might feel better when you do, yes," he agreed but offered no ideas as to how to handle the task when gravity was behaving strange and her bed was floating. How did he expect her to cope by herself?

"Yeah," she confirmed, looking around helplessly now that he refused to help. Or didn't offer to help but seeing how it should have been obvious she needed help, it was practically the same.

Apparently Henry did have some mercy, though, as he went away for a second and returned without the old glass, carrying one filled with water, together with her toothbrush and toothpaste. He handed her everything, placing the bowl of water before her.

Seems like it _was_ possible to brush your teeth in bed.

III

About a minute after she was done, Henry took everything away from the bedroom. Then he turned to her, smiling.

"All you need now is some sleep, Coreen. This, I guess, you will manage on your own," he told her.

He was so nice to her and Coreen felt like crying. Maybe she should let him know she appreciated it and then he would start liking her again? That sounded like a plan.

"Henry?" she began shyly. "Can I kiss you?"

He seemed momentarily taken by surprise.

"I believe asking such questions should wait until you are fully aware of your actions."

He didn't want her to show him she liked him. She sniffed.

"But I like you," she argued.

"I like you as well, I assure you. For now, though, you should get some sleep," he told her and then strode to her and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Coreen."

"Night, H'nry," she mumbled, wrapping the duvet around herself tightly. Sleep sounded very good right now.

Plus, Henry said he liked her.

III

Coreen woke up to the realisation that someone turned the sun up a bit too much. Said realisation was quickly followed by the feeling of her head being sore from the inside. Sleepily, she opened her eyes and looked around before finally focusing on her bedside table where she saw a white pill and a glass of water waiting for her.

That was when her memory went online and was flooded by the recollections of the previous evening. She mewled miserably into the pillow and curled into a foetal position.

Maybe she could stay in her bed and never need to face the outside world in general and a certain vampire in particular ever again?

At the moment she was only grateful that, seeing how no client was scheduled for today, she had the weekend off and didn't need to show her face until Monday. Thank God for small mercies.

III

Entering the office held much more gravity that cloudy Monday morning than it usually did. If Henry mentioned anything about the events of Friday evening, Coreen was in big trouble. Not only wouldn't it have had any chance of happening if she hadn't talked Henry into going along with her stupid idea, something Vicki had been already quite vocal about, she was also pretty sure her actions could be interpreted, aside from ridding herself of all dignity, as making a drunken pass at Henry. And that was something Vicki simply wouldn't forgive.

Oh, sure, the PI always acted as if she couldn't care less, but Coreen had known her long enough to realise that underneath it all, she was quite possessive. If Henry said anything, the Goth could very well expect to be skinned alive.

On the other hand, if he hadn't and the PI, by whatever means, found out about it, things would be far from pretty. After all, Vicki had enough relationship issues to make half of Toronto's total. In the best case, she would never speak to either of the people concerned again, in the worst, she would be crushed, seeing it as a betrayal.

There was really no good way out of it.

And all this because Coreen stupidly wanted to prove her friends wrong.

III

When she got to the office, the PI was already there, sipping her morning coffee.

"Hi," the Goth said only as quietly as she could without her voice being a whisper.

"Morning, Coreen. How was your night out on Friday?"

The girl blanched and froze. Had Henry said something? Was this Vicki's introduction to telling her off? Had she already lost two friends and never even realised? She forced herself to breathe.

"Coreen? Are you alright?" the fact that Vicki sounded a bit concerned rather than pleased at seeing her victim properly terrified, gave her a small ray of hope.

"Fine. Nothing to worry about. I just went to sleep late and I'm not completely awake yet. Coffee should fix that. I'll go make some."

With that she fled to the kettle. Maybe, just maybe, her boss didn't know and wouldn't skin her alive just yet. As long as she kept calm.

III

Coreen glanced at her watch and almost winced when she realised how late it had gotten. She had to get out of there.

"Uh, Vicki?" she spoke, tearing the PI from her online search.

"They really should know better than to update their Facebook page if they want to be lying low," Vicki muttered before turning to her assistant. "Did you want something, Coreen?"

"Yeah. Would you mind if I went home now?"

"Not really. You know I'm not holding you to strict hours. But why so suddenly? Weren't you just formatting the photos for Tuesday?"

"Well, yeah. And I promise I'll finish it first thing tomorrow. But I developed a headache and it's not going away."

"You want some Tylenol?"

"Already took one. It's not helping though, so..."

"Sure, no problem. See you tomorrow."

"Thanks. Bye, Vicki."

The Goth quickly left the building and sighed in relief. That had been close.

III

It was getting harder, Coreen had to admit that much. But at the same time, she had to. She took a deep breath.

"Vicki?"

"Yeah? I hope Richardson didn't change the meeting time _again_ while I was out?"

"Nope, that's still for Friday afternoon. But I was hoping you'd let me leave early."

"Again? Are you sure you aren't sick or something?"

The Goth bit her lip. "No, nothing like that. It's just... I want to go to the library. I wanted to check '_Modern Theories on Personal Energies_'. It has a chapter on polarisation of auras that I really want to read and I think it might be useful for some of our cases. When I asked last Tuesday they said it was scheduled to be returned today so I really need to go and make sure someone doesn't borrow it before me."

"Couldn't you just ask one of your friends there to hold it for you?"

Coreen didn't even blink. "I tried but they have a strict policy that any book registering as available should be on the shelf and with their supervisor trying for a raise they are afraid of doing anything to mess that up. He meets the boss on the eighteenth though so whichever way that goes, everything should return to normal."

The PI looked at her carefully. Then she took her glasses off and started cleaning them absently.

"Sure, you can go. Just make sure you don't read all night. It's bad enough that I have no chance of waking my partner during the day if I need him. The last thing I want is to have the same problem with my assistant."

"Thanks," the Goth grinned, hoping she covered well enough for her sudden stiffness at the mention of Henry.

Vicki continued cleaning her glasses. Someone should really tell the girl that too much detail for an alibi is the first thing that tips off a detective that something fishy is going on. The second being the body language.

III

If it wasn't for how used she was by now to Henry's vampire ways, Vicki probably wouldn't have noticed the shift of air that announced his arrival. As it was, she wondered if he knew she was already aware of his presence. In any case, it was time to set some things straight.

"So, mind telling me what you did to Coreen?"

"Good evening to you too, Vicki. Why would I do anything to her? I haven't seen her in over a week."

"Precisely. The first two days she mysteriously developed a headache. Then there was something she needed urgently check out from the library before it closed. Three days in a row. After that, she had a medical check-up. Which is funny, because it didn't fit in any way in her doctor's working hours. And today she needed to leave early to buy a gift for her mother's birthday, which apparently is tomorrow. That would make her mother a person with two birthday dates in a year, seeing how her records state her actual birthday was four months ago."

"I see. But what does that prove aside from the fact that giving common excuses to a PI employer is not very successful?"

"All those excuses focused on getting Coreen out of the office before it got dark, while she behaved perfectly normal during the day. If this is not a sign that she is trying to avoid you, I don't know what is."

"Perhaps."

"So what did you do to her? She wasn't avoiding you before you went with her to meet her friends."

"I didn't do anything. Possibly she is a bit embarrassed about it."

"Why would she be?"

"She slightly overestimated her body's ability to metabolise alcohol."

"You got her drunk?"

"Hardly. I assure you, she managed to do that quite successfully on her own."

"And you didn't think of stopping her?"

"Vicki. She is an adult and was out of work. She had the right to get drunk if she wanted to. And I would have possibly said something, had I realised that she went for such strong drinks. With her body mass, it didn't take too long for them to take effect."

"So what happened? Did she pass out under the table? Get sick on someone?"

"It was hardly that bad. She was just a bit... detached from reality. And, come to think about it, worried that you'd find out."

"How is that something to worry about? I know she is not a habitual drinker. And it's not like she is coming to work under influence, is it?" Vicki paused for a moment. "Wait. You were doing the driving, weren't you?" she asked urgently.

"Of course I was doing the driving. Not only did I expect that Coreen might have a drink or two but it also is a good form to provide a lady with a mode of transport when you accompany her."

"If you say so. Chauvinist. If you would do something only because I'm a lady..."

"Oh, not at all. I wouldn't dare accuse you of such a thing. I'd simply do it because I still am a gentleman," he shot back quickly earning her glare.

"_Anyway_, you need to fix this somehow. I don't mind letting Coreen leave work early when we don't have anything urgent but I won't have the whole running of the business arranged around her wish to avoid you."

"She will probably get over it sooner or later."

"That's nice. But unlike some of the people present, I don't have eternity to wait."

"Point taken. Do you want me to talk to her?"

"Do you think it will work?"

"It might. In any case, if I meet her outside of the office, she might stop being so insistent avoiding it just because I might come here."

"Sounds good. Thanks."

"Anytime. And Vicki?"

"Yeah?"

"You might want to let the girl know that you don't hold her activities in her free time against her."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Excellent. Now, would you allow me to take you somewhere for dinner?"

"What, don't you have anything better to do than watching me eat?"

"Actually, while I understand how it was a rather bold assumption on my part, I was hoping we could have a conversation while you eat."

"Sure, whatever."

"Thank you, Vicki. Your enthusiasm about it is truly encouraging."

"You are seriously asking for it."

"Whatever you say, Victoria."

She glared.

III

Coreen was sitting miserably on her sofa, staring without interest at some show on the telly. From time to time she reached to the side, where she placed a plate with sandwiches. Rolling her eyes at one of the contestants, she almost cried out when, instead of a snack, her hand found a clip frame.

Startled she slowly turned to take a look. There was a picture in the frame. Picture of her, with accented gothic characteristics that suggested that either they were intended as a parody or the author saw her Goth clubbing attire, sitting among some fluffy creatures. All her hopes that they were actually Tribbles evaporated at a closer look. They were bunnies. What's worse, being the only element in colour in the whole picture, they were _purple_ bunnies.

In retrospect, crying out might have been an entirely appropriate reaction. She groaned.

"Your window was open," she heard Henry's voice behind her and stilled.

Of course, she knew he must have been the one responsible for the picture's arrival. Of the five people in the whole world who knew about her unfortunate saying, he was the only one with any ability to draw. Still, hearing his voice made facing him seem somehow more unavoidable.

"Yeah, I know. The air was a bit stuffy when I came home. I forgot to close it, though. It got a bit cold in here," she answered as casually as she could, hoping for more avoidance could be found in taking care of the window.

"In that case, you might be glad to hear that I closed it behind me."

"Thanks," she managed and paused, unsure what to say.

Silence stretched between them for a while as Henry took a seat on the coach.

"Why have you been avoiding me, Coreen?"

"Avoiding you? I haven't been avoiding you."

"Coreen, do you honestly consider me so unobservant that I wouldn't notice your absence in the evenings following my meeting your friends? What's the matter?"

She looked at her hands that she unconsciously folded into fists.

"Do I even need to explain?" she whispered, her cheeks flushed.

"As a matter of fact, it would be helpful, seeing how I seem to be at loss when it comes to your reasons."

"How can you? You were there as well."

"If you are, as I suspect, referring to Friday night, then I honestly can't think of anything that would warrant such a reaction."

"I _do_ remember what I did, you know."

"All the more reason to realise that you did nothing you should be this ashamed of."

"I- I was horrible. And you saw it all. The things I said to you..."

"Were nothing you should torment yourself over. Besides, I would be the last person to hold somebody's behaviour while intoxicated against them."

"You'd be the last..." she repeated curiously, forgetting for a moment about her plight.

"Let's just say that you'd have to try much harder than you did for _your_ indiscretions to ever reach the history books."

She blinked. "That bad?"

"Worse. Those were actually the ones my father saw no reason to cover up." It was hard to miss her sympathetic wince at that. "You might say I had quite a bit growing up to do before I could transform from a teenager to a sapient creature. It was very fortunate that one of my rash decisions granted me more than enough time to perform that feat."

"I seem to recall you presenting the story a bit differently, before."

"I gained some perspective."

"You mean met Vicki?"

"Does it really matter where one's wisdom comes from as long as it eventually does?" Coreen opened her mouth to press the matter before thinking better of it. There _was_ such a thing as too personal a question and the wasn't about to make Henry think that she shared lack of tact with her friends. "So, you're saying that my show was nothing compared to your stormy youth?"

"Not even close," he assured her with a grin. "I'm afraid I was quite the brat. And, to make things worse, I had a friend who, at the time, shared my ideas of _fun_."

"Oh my."

"Precisely. No reason for you to worry about your little slip up, let alone skip work because of it."

"If you say so."

"And, should Vicki say anything, you can always blame it on my bad influence. I've got a history and she knows it. It would be hard for her not to, with her degree."

"I guess. I should probably start staying at work anyway, before she starts to suspect something."

Henry's lips twitched. "I hate to tell you this, Coreen, but the next time you want to convince a former detective about your excuse, you might want to make sure it's not only airtight but that you have at least two independent sources that corroborate your story."

The Goth blanched. "She knows?"

"I'm afraid so."

She hid her face in her hands. "I am so dead."

"Oh, I have no doubt that if Vicki carried any murderous thoughts towards you, she would have acted on them by now. If anything, seeing how it's your first offence she might let you off with a warning."

"Right."

"On a more serious note, I wouldn't worry about it. You might have _omitted_ the truth a little bit," the girl snorted, "But there was no ill will behind your action. Not to mention, she feels very protective of you. It's far more likely that she was worried about you than that she holds a few excuses against you."

"You think so?"

"I know so. This can hardly undermine her opinion of you. She told me that she couldn't imagine a better assistant and she trusts you not only as an employee but as a friend."

"Seriously?"

"Of course, I probably wasn't supposed to tell you that," he smiled.

A bit reluctantly, she returned his smile but after a moment hers faltered. "Henry? I'm sorry for the way I behaved that Friday. Really."

"It's all already forgotten."

"Forgotten? So you won't tell Vicki about it?"

"I see no reason why she would need to know the details. I suppose we can agree to lock that secret away, together with the purple bunnies."

Exhaling in relief, she lifted the picture, a smile playing on her lips.

"If they weren't so horribly embarrassing, this would be kind of cute, you know."

"I'm glad you think so."

"I almost wish I could risk having it displayed somewhere in sight."

"You can. As a matter of fact, the picture might be useful."

"How?"

"The next time your saying slips out, you can claim a private joke and direct everyone to the picture."

She thought about it. "This could actually work. But I'm not sure I'd dare exposing the bunnies to the world. I'm not ready for that level of arcana."

The vampire laughed at that. "When you are, though, you will have that option available."

"If I ever reach that stage, that is. Still, thank you."

"You're welcome, Coreen. But I suppose I should leave you to get some rest. Something tells me Vicki wouldn't be too happy if you overslept because I kept you awake."

"Not after me skipping work for over a week, that's for certain. Thanks for everything, though."

"Think nothing of it. Goodnight, Coreen."

"Night, Henry."

It was only after she closed the door behind him that the Goth realised that while Henry had forgiven her for her own conduct, she still had to apologise for that of her friends, especially since it was all because of her that he met them in the first place.

Sighing heavily she went back to the couch and took another look at the picture. She had to admit, the thing was rather on the adorable side. Maybe if she hung it in some not immediately noticeable place...

THE END

Reviews will be appreciated.


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